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ADDRESS 



To the Alumni and Friends of the 

University of North Carolina: 

The following extract is from the report of the Treasurer 
of the University, in E^ovember, 1868: 

'^ The indebtedness of the University is estimated to be 
not much less than $60,000, though I have been unable 
to ascertain the exact amount. To secure these debts, a 
deed in trust was executed on the 30th of April, 1867, 
conveying about one thousand acres of land and other 
valuable property, in the county of Orange, belonging to 
the University, and also about five thousand acres of land 
in the county of Buncombe. The payment of these debts, 
or the closing of the trust, will be enforced at an early day, 
and it will be for the Legislature to determine whether 
this valuable property shall be sold under the trust, or a 
suflficient appropriation be made to satisfy the debts, and 
thereby redeem the property." 

It is hoped that a judicial determination will soon be 
had which mU. more precisely fix the liabilities of the 
University. I deem the present a suitable time, when I 
may, as an Alumnus, submit a proposition for its relief. 
Before doing so, however, it will not be improper for me 
to recur briefly to some leading events that have marked 
my connection with the Institution. 

I entered the Freshman Class of the University in the 
year 1849, at the age of seventeen, and graduated in 1853. 
During the same year I was appointed by the Trustees to 
the Tutorship of Mathematics and entered upon the dis- 
charge of my duties in that department in January, 1854. 
Six years thereafter I was appointed, without application, 
to the position of Adjunct Professor of Pure Mathematics. 
As there were at that time two Professors of Mathematics, 
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and my promotion left no Tutor in that department, I 
accepted this act on the part of the Trustees as a token 
of their favor ; and having declined invitations to full 
Professorships in two other institutions of learning, con- 
tinued in the service of the University. The vocation was 
congenial to my feelings, and I regarded the position as 
one of usefulness and honor. In 1866 I appUed to the 
Trustees for a furlough. The reason offered by me lor 
this step was, that the scanty and insufficient sum derived 
through the hmited patronage which the University then 
had, might all go to eke out the salaries of my older col- 
leagues in the Faculty. The application was promptly 
granted, and I resolved to hold myself in readiness to 
return to the Institution whenever the Trustees might 
request my services. In 1868 I was appointed a Trustee, 
and in January, 1869, 1 was invited to the Presidency. 

I had observed the management and condition of the 
University too closely to be ignorant of its great embar- 
rassment at that time. I was not unmindfiil of the heavy 
responsibihties with which my re-entrance upon duty, in 
this new position, would burden me. I saw that the 
number of students had greatly decreased; that the Insti- 
tution had lost much of its former prestige; that its 
endowment was gone; that its valuable property had 
been mortgaged for heavy debts, some of which, especially 
those due the estate of its former President, were legal 
and entirely just; that the buildings were in need of re- 
pairs, and their roofs leaking to such a degree as to imperil 
the books and property in the Libraries ; that although 
the death of President Swain had occurred several months 
before, and the Trustees, at a pullic meeting, held in the 
Senate Chamber, in the City of Ealeigh, in November, had 
taken action looking to the appointment of a Faculty on 
the first day of January following, yet, so far as I could 
ascertain, there had been no applicant for the position, nor 
was any one known to be willing to assume the duties and 
responsibilities of the Presidency under such embarrassing 
circumstances. I was recalled, and the position was 
tendered to me. For a moment I hesitated. Some of my 



friends advised me to decline the offer. They beUeved 
that my best efforts would prove but a thankless task. 
They reminded me of my duty to my family. I was 
holdmg a quiet and remunerative office, from which I 
reahzed an actual income much greater than I could even 
hope, under the most favorable circumstances, to receive 
as President of the University. I was aware that my 
predecessor had been a gentleman of rare talents and long 
experience, and that his place would be difficult to ffil. I 
foresaw that every act of mine would be the subject of 
keen criticism, and dreaded to undertake the performance 
of a task so hazardous. 

On the other hand, the exercises of the Institution had 
been suspended, and it was suggested that, should I refuse 
my services, the day might be distant on which its doors 
could be re-opened. I was convinced that the buildings 
should be occupied, and was unwilling that the superior 
facilities for education, which could here be afforded, should 
remain unoffered while so many of our youth were grow- 
ing up in idleness or turning then: steps to the Colleges 
of other and distant States. ]N"either the former Board 
of Trustees nor the present one, in their conduct towards 
me, had given me any cause of complaint. Both had 
seemed to manifest their partiality by tendering me posi- 
tions which other gentlemen were more competent than 
myself to fill. At my own request the Trustees of the 
University had promptly granted me leave of absence ; I 
returned at their bidding. 

By some, my course has been severely censured. By 
others, it has been warmly approved and applauded. It 
has not yet occasioned me any regret or self-reproach. 

I supposed that the present Trustees were a legally con- 
stituted body, and that their offer to me was made in 
good faith. When they invited me to my present posi- 
tion, it was not distinctly stated that my services would 
be required for only a hmited time ; nor have I yet been 
officially informed as to the precise date when my term 
of office will expire. Yet it has been generously intimated 
to me by other parties, from time to time, through the 



columns of our State papers, that my successor would 
soon be chosen. I have recently had the honor ot observ- 
ing the nomination of several distinguished gentlemen for 
my position. 

I have always desired to see a fair and free discussion 
of all questions pertaining to the University. In my first 
public report, at the annual commencement in June, 1869, 
I invited a careful public scrutiny of the Institution. I 
have not objected to a just and respectful criticism. Mis- 
representation, ridicule and scandal are resorted to only 
by the consciously weak, but with the ignorant they are 
often more potent than truth and reason. The vulgar 
and unscrupulous deal blows which gentlemen of cultiva- 
tion and refinement seldom condescend to give, and often 
find themselves poorly prepared to parry. 

I have not infrequently found it difficult to distinguish 
the friends of the University from its eneuLies. Some who 
should be its friends, by an indefatigable use of their pens, 
have done much to turn the tide of patronage away from 
the Institution and the State. It is to be regretted that 
the efforts of anonymous writers, who claim to be its 
Jfriends, have only tended to bring the University into dis- 
repute. If their time and ingenuity had been more ju^ 
diciously expended, all differences might long ago have 
been adjusted, all classes reconciled, and the Institution 
set forward upon a career of p;:Qsperity and usefulness. 
If the immense service so fi'eely rendered, had been dif- 
ferently directed, and the labors of these professed friends 
had been combined in some useful employment, in the 
field or the factory, they might have earned enough money 
to pay off the debt that now weighs down the Institution. 

I have entertained the opinion that the present unfor- 
tunate condition of the University has resulted mainly from 
its financial embarrassment. Had it been free from debt 
in 1860, and able to boast of up. endowment yielding a 
handsome income, the course pursued towards it would 
have been very different. Prior to the war it was well 
endowed and prosperous. Its Trustees were not compell- 
ed to look long or far away for Professors to fill its vacant 



chairs. Its defects, thoiigli observed, were not eagerly 
published. The tongue of scandal was silent. True 
friends are sometimes more clearly revealed in the dark- 
ness of adversity than in the light of prosperity. 

While the debts of the University are unpaid, and it 
continues to be made a theme of political discussion by 
the press and upon the stump, there can be but little hope 
of its real prosperity and usefulness. So long as it is felt 
that the whole character of the Institution must be affec- 
ted by the ascendency of this or that party, it cannot re- 
ceive the confidence and support of the people. There 
should be one place, at least, in North Carolina to which 
our youth may retire from the din and heat of party strife, 
to pursue in quiet the walks of Literature and Science. 
That place should be the University. In reply to a letter 
from me, one of the purest and most energetic men of the 
State writes, under date of April 26th, 1870 : * ^Cordially 
do I reciprocate your expression that political fervor and 
partizan strife are the grand errors of our people at this 
time. That they are not only the occasion of our barren 
and desolate fields, but are sowing seeds of bitterness in 
families and neighborhoods, and of irreligion and infidelity 
in the hearts of our children. This quotation from your 
letter should be emblazoned upon the doors of all our 
public offices and institutions, and places of pleasure and 
business, and its spirit cherished in the hearts of all our 
fellow-citizens, and then would soon arise a brighter and 
better day for the impoverished and strugghng citizens of 
our mother State. As long as her rippling waters flow 
from her mountains to the ocean, or the pine trees of her 
eastern plains shall bend before impending storms, I shall 
love her in all her parts, in all her interests, and in all her 
population." 

In the months of August and September, 1869, I pub- 
lished in the Ealeigh Sentinel^ over the signature of '^A 
]S"ORTH Oaeolinian," a series of communications upon 
the subject of the ^'University and the PuUic Schools.''^ 
In the last of these I took occasion to use the following 
language : "During the decade beginning with the year 



1808, the University recorded 715 matriculates and 110 
graduates. Beginning with the year 1818, there were 
1,308 ruatriculates and 259 graduates ; with the year 1828, 
there were 1,005 matriculates and 146 graduates ; with 
the year 1838, there were 1,597 matriculates and 308 
graduates ; with the year 1848, there were 2,923 matric- 
ulates and 448 graduates ; with the year 1858, there were 
1,872 matriculates and 410 graduates ; making a grand 
total of nearly 10,000 matriculates. 

During the period of twenty years, beginning with June, 
1848, nearly one thousand of these were my college mates, 
and above three thousand have been my pupils. Many of 
those who were dear to me in hfe's spring-time, and whose 
increasing usefulness I watched with anxious and affec- 
tionate interest, now rest quietly in then- graves. Their 
names are upon the record that lies before me, and their 
memory is yet pleasant as the "fragrance of flowers fresh 
fallen." Many still survive, and from them, scattered all 
over the land, come frequent letters of congratulation and 
cordial greeting. One of these, w^ho fought bravely in the 
Southern army during the late war, wiites from a North- 
ern State : *^]^o one entering upon a field of duty so 
conscientiously as yourself, need have any fears of ultimate 
success ; and I am sure the University is far better off 
than when it was first put into operation, after the revo- 
lutionary war ; and I should judge the State authorities 
intend it shall prosper. With my best wishes for your 
success," &c. Another from the far South : "I hope, 
my dear sir, you have not forgotten me, as I entertain a 
most distinct and pleasant memory both of yourself and 
your class room. Many of my class-mates were killed 
near me in the army of Virginia, and I myself am writing 
to you with my left hand, having had my right arm ampu- 
tated at the shoulder joint at the battle of Gettysburg,*' &c. 
And a class-mate writes, " The University must be made a 
great power for good. Of its final success in your hands 
I have no doubt ; not however without opposition. The 
press will growl, prejudices will be excited, ridicule at- 
tempted. But I trust that in the genuine spirit of the 



great Apostle, you may truly say, 'none of these things 
move me.'" And from another class-mate, an intimate 
associate in the morning of our youth, now filhng a position 
ot usefulness and honor in Delaware; and recently from a 
College-mate, a minister of the Gospel, residing in a sister 
State, quoting in his letter to me a prayer he had just 
been offering in his closet for the success and prosperity 
of the University. And from central and eastern and 
western iN'orth Carolina, come these messages full of hope 
and encouragement." More recently a distinguished 
graduate writes, '^My mind often recurs in moments of 
leisure to my alma Dialer . It is the spot where the best 
memories of my past centre. And I trust that under your 
management, notwithstanding the prejudices that have 
been excited against it, the University will eclipse its 
former prosperity." And still more recently, from a class- 
mate who stood side by side with me in oiu* four years of 
generous rivalry in the recitation room, and halls of the 
Philanthropic Society, and who has since received a flat- 
tering popular vote for Congress, ''I have often recurred 
with pleasure to my alma mater — her classic memories 
and the generous rivahy of my fellows there. In a few 
years more, with God's blessing, I shall have two sons 
prepared for College. I wish them to be educated at the 
University where their father was. I conceive it to be the 
duty of every patriotic and chivalrous North Carolinian 
to build up and sustain the University, and to promote 
the cause of education throughout the masses. Let us 
correspond and remember the days of yore." And since 
the opening of the present new year, from a gifted clergy- 
man of the Protestant Episcopal Church, now residing in 
a distant State, but belonging to one of the most respect- 
able and highly esteemed families in ^N'orth Carolina, ^' I 
retain very high veneration for the University. And 
although I left her under trying circumstances, and was 
not able to reap the ftdl benefit of her training, still I 
have endeavored not to bring her into disrepute." 

The Alumni are dispersed over nearly every State of 
the Union. By many of them their alma mater will be 



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ever warmly cherished. Should one of them ever wilfully 
add to her embarrassment ? 

Before the Institution can give promise of great pros- 
perity and usefulness, the debt must be paid, the property 
redeemed and the former endowment replaced. In the 
present impoverished condition of our people, it is doubt- 
ful whether this should be done by taxation. As already 
intimated, many of these claims, especially those due the 
estate of. the former President, and perhaps all others, are 
entirely just and should be met. The doors of the Uni- 
versity ought not to be closed for debt, nor should it be 
allowed to languish. At this crisis in its affairs, I venture 
as an alumnus, to submit the following propositions : 

1. That the Alumni and friends of the University unite 
in an effort for its rescue. That they address the Treas- 
urer of the Board of Trustees, stating the amount they 
will contribute to pay off its legal debts. Payment to be 
made when there shall have been responses enough to 
cover the entire indebtedness. I have this day addressed 
such a letter to the Treasurer, offering to give one thou- 
sand dollars ($1000) for this purpose so aoon as the remain- 
der of the required sum shall be covered by contributions 
of from $10 to $1000, or more. 

2. I propose to such professed friends as have mani- 
fested so great concern for the Institution, and during the 
last two years have honored me by their frequent notices, 
that if each one of them who has borne part in the public 
defamation of the University, will give more reasonable 
and substantial evidence of sincere interest in its welfare, 
by the contribution of a sum equal to that offered by my- 
self, I will, at once, if they desire it, resign my position 
and they may have control of the Institution. The debt 
being thus paid, I would have the satisfaction of seeing 
my successor enter upon duty with better promise than 
Avas given me. For the present it will occasion no sur- 
prise if I decline to quietly surrender the University to 
any one of those whose friendship must be determined by 
their zeal in defaming it, rather than by their liberality in 
rescuing it from the grasp of its creditors. 

SOLOMON POOL. 
Chapel Hill, Jan. 2G, 1871. 



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